I spent long days picking apples while living in the Australian mountains. A departing French guy gave me a giant, beat up, old novel that was partially being eaten by black mold. This novel changed my life. It’s called Shantaram. Every evening after tremendous days of fruit picking, I would pull my lawn chair from the van I was living in, brew a cup of instant coffee and read this amazing book as the vibrant sun set across the enormous Australian sky.
This novel
I can’t recommend the book enough. I think it played a pivotal role in my decision to continue travel working. If you’d like to buy Shantaram on Amazon, please us my affiliate link (?) to support my writing. Thank you.
In the video below, Roberts talks about some of the stories that he writes about in the book. Enjoy ->
Video #1
I recommend you watch all eight of them.
Notice how Roberts mentions that he became a doctor not because he went there to save people or to help, it happened inadvertently; the job became him. This is a key understanding to long term travel. You can have your goal, but expect that your travels will change you. You will meld to the circumstances and in this transition, you will learn invaluable life lessons.
I’ve heard rumors that Johnny Depp bought the rights to the book and plans to make it a Hollywood move. I’m a big fan of Johnny’s and him doing the character of Linbaba sounds like a dream.
“The contours of all our virtues are shaped by adversity”